clean energy costs Archives

Would You Rather Pay at the Hospital (Op-Ed + 3 Studies)

April 2nd, 2012 | by Zachary Shahan

It astounds me sometimes how bad humans are at looking at the full price of something. We somehow think [&hellip

Clean Energy Is Needed Now (Climate Scientists & Climate Economists Agree)

March 2nd, 2012 | by Zachary Shahan

Climate action is trillions of dollars cheaper than climate inaction. Investing in a clean energy economy is not cheap. It [&hellip

New IEA Report on Renewable Energy Costs & Policy (IEA Nails It!)

November 23rd, 2011 | by Zachary Shahan

The International Energy Agency (IEA), traditionally a very fossil-fuel-friendly international agency, reported today that renewable energy is becoming cost-competitive (and [&hellip

Amory Lovins Nails Renewable Energy Costs, Energy Subsidies, & Myth of Baseload

November 12th, 2011 | by Zachary Shahan

Below is a wonderful video of Amory Lovins explaining the energy subsidy inequality (favoring fossil fuels) in the U.S. today, [&hellip

Solar Panels from SunPower Achieve Guinness World Record

June 19th, 2011 | by Zachary Shahan

I know, solar panel records are set almost everyday these days, it seems. One reason solar power costs have already dropped over 20% this year. But who doesn't love a "new solar panel record set" story

Clean Power

Solar Day 2011 (Tomorrow!)

June 17th, 2011 | by Zachary Shahan

Just a note for all you solar lovers (I think we've got a few on here :D): SolarDay 2011 is tomorrow, June 18 (in Canada, the U.S., and the UK). You have to love the line from the folks behind this great day: "The world's energy future: 50 years of oil reserves, 200 years of coal reserves and at least 5 billion years of solar energy." That puts things into perspective a bit, eh

Clean Power

U.S. Solar Energy Growth Continues to Crush Records (10 Key Findings)

June 17th, 2011 | by Zachary Shahan

A new report published yesterday by the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) and GTM Research, U.S. Solar Market Insight: Q1 2011, indicates that the U.S. solar energy industry is continuing its record-setting growth. It is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the U.S. economy and is making noteworthy strides in both installed solar power capacity and solar manufacturing

Clean Power

Most Popular Solar Panels in California

June 16th, 2011 | by Zachary Shahan

Interested to know which solar panel companies make the most sales in California? Well, the California Solar Initiative (CSI) has compiled and revealed data on just that

Clean Power

Solar Power Boosts the Sales Price of California Homes

June 15th, 2011 | by Reggie Norris

A recent report by the Department of Energy Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) provides the latest and greatest evidence that the addition of solar panels on homes increases the resale value of these homes

Clean Power

Solar Power Graphs to Make You Smile

June 10th, 2011 | by Zachary Shahan

Solar power in some markets is already cost-competitive with power from fossil fuels or nuclear energy. It's expected to take over more and more markets in the very near future as its costs continue to decline and the costs of other antiquated energy sources continue to rise

Clean Power

Germany: Talk of the Cleantech Town this Week

June 9th, 2011 | by Zachary Shahan

Germany is all the talk lately. And for obvious reasons. It's already a world leader in clean energy and now its decided to close all of its nuclear power plants by 2022 (as I reported a little more than a month ago). This has instigated political controversy, wild claims, clean energy enthusiasm, and a number of new reports. It has also helped to light a fire under other countries slower to react on the ongoing nuclear crisis in Japan and slower to implement progressive clean energy policies to tackle catastrophic global climate change. A number of stories focused on Germany have popped up this week that I thought I'd give a little extra attention to

Clean Power

New Jersey and Pennsylvania Solar Renewable Energy Credit Markets Choking to Death

June 9th, 2011 | by Guest Contributor

The pace of solar installations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania is ironically destroying the incentives that make such installations possible

Clean Power

China to Double Solar Power Capacity Target to 10 GW by 2015

June 8th, 2011 | by Zachary Shahan

I just reported yesterday on a new report out by Ernst & Young showing that China is the most attractive country in the world for renewable energy investors. However, it wasn't ranked as top for solar energy investment (was tied for third with Spain behind the US and India). That may change next time around (the report is released every quarter), as China is preparing to officially up its 2015 solar capacity target from 5 GW to 10 GW!

Clean Power

Small- AND Large-Scale Solar Needed

June 1st, 2011 | by Zachary Shahan

Well, I don't think it will come as much surprise, but following up on a CleanTechnica post from last month on the merits of small-scale solar compared to large-scale solar, I thought I'd share parts of a new piece by Solar Energy Industries Association President & CEO Rhone Resch on why we need both (with a little commentary of my own)

Clean Power

New Flexible Solar Cell on Plastic Efficiency Record

June 1st, 2011 | by Zachary Shahan

Solar records are broken left and right. We can't cover them all, of course, but try to cover the big ones. Recently, researchers ar Empa, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, set a pretty big one. They increased the solar cell efficiency record of flexible solar cells made of copper indium gallium (di)selenide (aka CIGS) from 17.6% to 18.7%, a pretty significant increase

Clean Power

GE: Solar Power Cheaper than Fossil Fuels in 5 Years

May 29th, 2011 | by Zachary Shahan

"Solar power may be cheaper than electricity generated by fossil fuels and nuclear reactors within three to five years because of innovations, said Mark M. Little, the global research director for General Electric Co. (GE)," Bloomberg reports